1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine oil consumption measurement device and an engine oil consumption measurement method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a gravimetric method, withdrawal method or the like are known as engine oil consumption measurement methods of an engine. However, conventional engine oil consumption measurement methods such as the gravimetric method and the withdrawal method have the following problems. They require a long period of time for measurement, engine oil is diluted by fuel or water that mixes with the engine oil at the time of measurement, and the engine oil consumption measured is lower than an actual amount. Thus, the accurate measurement of engine oil consumption is difficult.
In view of these problems, as a method allowing relatively accurate measurement of the engine oil consumption in a short time, a so-called S trace method has been disclosed (refer to JP-A-Hei 6-93822, for example). The S trace method is a method for measuring the amount of sulfur content per unit time contained in the exhaust gas from the engine to calculate the amount of engine oil per unit time consumed with the fuel.
Normally, sulfur content in the engine oil is included in the exhaust gas as various compounds such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), sulfur monoxide (SO), or hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
Therefore, in the S trace method, a typical light of sulfur needs to be measured optically to obtain the amount of sulfur compounds in the exhaust gas as a sulfur dioxide density.
Therefore, in order to perform the S trace method, a device for making the sulfur content in the exhaust gas to emit light and a device for optically measuring the emitted light are necessary. These devices are large in size, complicated to control, and expensive.